The American professional tennis player Sloane Stephens and Barbadian Darian King are good friends. Darian is coaching Sloane Stephens, aside from continuing his professional tennis career.
Born in a family of successful athletes, Sloane began her tennis career at age thirteen, participating in ITF Junior Circuit in 2006.
In 2008, she and her partner Mallory Burdette surprised everyone by reaching the doubles finals of the US Open.
Her stepfather was a competitive recreational tennis player who inspired her to play tennis. She went to the Sierra Sport and Racquet Club to practice games in California, a tennis facility where her stepdad frequently played.
Speaking of her achievements, Sloane has won seven WTA tour singles titles and a Grand Slam. She lifted the US Open trophy, defeating fellow American player Madison Keys in 2017.
However, her coach, Darian, has not been as fortunate as Stephens in tournaments. He has not been able to win any career titles yet.
However, Darian’s help was crucial for Sloane when she won her seventh WTA Tour singles title in Mexico in 2022.
Sloane Stephens Coach: Darian King
Darian King was born to his parents, Myrna and Wesley King, on April 26, 1992, in Bridgetown, Barbados. He grew up with three siblings- a sister and two brothers.
One of his brothers, Christopher, is his head coach. Almost every member of his family has been engaged in one or other form of sports, which motivated him to pursue a career in sports as well.
His dad, Wesley, was a field hockey player, and his mom was skilled at netball. Sadly, she passed away in 2010 due to pancreatic cancer.
King watched and kept information on all sorts of sports as a child. However, his favorite sportsman while growing up was Usain Bolt.
Later, when he decided to pursue a professional tennis career, Darian looked up to Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as his role models.
Moreover, King has been actively participating in international tournaments since 2010.
Although he has had very little success in his adult career, he has reached 22 ITF finals, winning thirteen of them. In 2015, King became the first Barbadian player to qualify for an ATP event.
Sloane is Darian’s Friend, Mentor, And Practice Partner
Despite his slow progress in professional tennis, one thing Darian thinks he has achieved playing games in all these years is his connection with fellow players from various places worldwide.
He is very good friends with many tennis players, including Dustin Brown, Noah Rubin, Frances Tiafoe, etc.
Similarly, he and Sloane knew each other through tennis games and became good friends.
Darian and Sloane worked together for nearly two seasons from early 2021 to 2022. During this time, as they practiced together, Darian acted as her coach and hitting partner.
Currently, the former Spanish player Francisco Roig is coaching Sloane.
Nonetheless, Sloane and Darian are still in touch and are good friends. In fact, Sloane still considers Darian her mentor, and he, too, likes chatting with her about their games.
